Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide-Based Graft-versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis.

BACKGROUND: In patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT), a calcineurin inhibitor plus methotrexate has been a standard prophylaxis against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). A phase 2 study indicated the potential superiority of a post-transplantation regimen of cyclophosphamide, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil. METHODS: In a phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned adults with hematologic cancers in a 1:1 ratio to receive cyclophosphamide-tacrolimus-mycophenolate mofetil (experimental prophylaxis) or tacrolimus-methotrexate (standard prophylaxis). The patients underwent HSCT from an HLA-matched related donor or a matched or 7/8 mismatched (i.e., mismatched at only one of the HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-DRB1 loci) unrelated donor, after reduced-intensity conditioning. The primary end point was GVHD-free, relapse-free survival at 1 year, assessed in a time-to-event analysis, with events defined as grade III or IV acute GVHD, chronic GVHD warranting systemic immunosuppression, disease relapse or progression, and death from any cause. RESULTS: In a multivariate Cox regression analysis, GVHD-free, relapse-free survival was significantly more common among the 214 patients in the experimental-prophylaxis group than among the 217 patients in the standard-prophylaxis group (hazard ratio for grade III or IV acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, disease relapse or progression, or death, 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49 to 0.83; P = 0.001). At 1 year, the adjusted GVHD-free, relapse-free survival was 52.7% (95% CI, 45.8 to 59.2) with experimental prophylaxis and 34.9% (95% CI, 28.6 to 41.3) with standard prophylaxis. Patients in the experimental-prophylaxis group appeared to have less severe acute or chronic GVHD and a higher incidence of immunosuppression-free survival at 1 year. Overall and disease-free survival, relapse, transplantation-related death, and engraftment did not differ substantially between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients undergoing allogeneic HLA-matched HSCT with reduced-intensity conditioning, GVHD-free, relapse-free survival at 1 year was significantly more common among those who received cyclophosphamide-tacrolimus-mycophenolate mofetil than among those who received tacrolimus-methotrexate. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and others; BMT CTN 1703 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03959241.).

A phase I study of pevonedistat, azacitidine, and venetoclax in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

Azacitidine/venetoclax is an active regimen in patients with newly diagnosed AML. However, primary or secondary resistance to azacitidine/venetoclax is an area of unmet need and overexpression of MCL-1 is suggested to be a potential resistance mechanism. Pevonedistat inhibits MCL-1 through activation of NOXA, and pevonedistat/azacitidine has previously shown activity in AML. To assess the tolerability and efficacy of adding pevonedistat to azacitidine/venetoclax in relapsed/refractory AML, we conducted a phase I multicenter openlabel study in 16 adults with relapsed/refractory AML. Patients were treated with azacitidine, venetoclax along with pevonedistat intravenously on days 1, 3 and 5 of each 28-day cycle at 10, 15 or 20 mg/m2 in successive cohorts in the dose escalation phase. The impact of treatment on protein neddylation as well as expression of pro-apoptotic BCL2 family members was assessed. The recommended phase II dose of pevonedistat was 20 mg/m2. Grade 3 or higher adverse events included neutropenia (31%), thrombocytopenia (13%), febrile neutropenia (19%), anemia (19%), hypertension (19%) and sepsis (19%). The overall response rate was 46.7% for the whole cohort including complete remission (CR) in 5 of 7 (71.4%) patients who were naïve to the hypomethylating agent/venetoclax. No measurable residual disease (MRD) was detected in 80.0% of the patients who achieved CR. The median time to best response was 50 (range: 23 - 77) days. Four patients were bridged to allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The combination of azacitidine, venetoclax and pevonedistat is safe and shows encouraging preliminary activity in patients with relapsed/refractory AML. (NCT04172844).

Severity of Cytokine Release Syndrome and Its Association with Infections after T Cell-Replete Haploidentical Related Donor Transplantation.

An increased risk of infections has been described after T cell-replete haploidentical cell transplantation (haploHCT). Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) after haploHCT is a known phenomenon, but the impact of CRS severity on the risk of infections remains unexplored. We retrospectively evaluated 78 consecutive adult haploHCT recipients from 2012 to 2018 for the development of CRS (graded based on the criteria of Lee et al) and examined the incidence and mortality due to infections in correlation with CRS severity. In our study cohort, which was stratified into 3 groups by severity of CRS, 80% of the patients developed infections within 180 days of HCT. Significantly higher proportions of patients with CRS grade 2 (89%) and grade ≥3 (90%) than patients with CRS grade 0-1 (68%) had at least 1 infection in the first 100 days (P = .04). Bloodstream infections (BSIs) were seen more frequently in patients with CRS grade 2 and grade ≥3 in the first 6 months. Multivariable analysis for time to infection showed that CRS grade ≥3 was independently associated with an elevated risk of any infection compared with CRS grade 0-1 (hazard ratio [HR], 3.05; P = .007). CRS grade ≥3 was also associated with a higher hazard of viral (HR, 3.42; P = .04) and bacterial infections (HR, 2.83; P = .03) compared with CRS grade 0-1. After adjusting for time to neutrophil engraftment as a time-dependent covariate, CRS grade ≥3 still had a significant effect on viral infections (HR, 2.49; P = .03), but not on bacterial infections (HR, 1.32; P = .57). CRS grade was also a significant predictor for infection density (overall, bacterial, and viral). The incidence of infection-related mortality by day +100 was higher in patients with severe CRS. Severe CRS developing after post-transplantation cyclophosphamide-based haploHCT is independently associated with viral infections and an increased risk of bacterial infections, likely through delayed neutrophil engraftment.

Ixazomib for Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is major cause of morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Ixazomib is an oral, second-generation, proteasome inhibitor that has been shown in preclinical models to prevent GVHD. We conducted a phase I/II trial in 57 patients to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ixazomib administration for cGVHD prophylaxis in patients undergoing allogeneic HCT. Oral ixazomib was administered on a weekly basis for a total of 4 doses, beginning days +60 through +90, to recipients of matched related donor (MRD, n = 25) or matched unrelated donor (MUD, n = 26) allogeneic HCT in phase II portion of the study, once the recommended phase II dose of 4 mg was identified in phase I (n = 6). All patients received peripheral blood graft and standard GVHD prophylaxis of tacrolimus and methotrexate. Ixazomib administration was safe and well tolerated, with thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, gastrointestinal complaints, and fatigue the most common adverse events (>10%). In phase II (n = 51), the cumulative incidence of cGVHD at 1 year was 36% (95% confidence interval [CI], 19% to 54%) in the MRD cohort and 39% (95% CI, 21% to 56%) in the MUD cohort. One-year cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) and relapse was 0% and 20% (95% CI, 8% to 36%) in the MRD cohort, respectively. In the MUD cohort, the respective NRM and relapse rates were 4% (0% to 16%) and 34% (17% to 52%). The outcomes on the study were compared post hoc with contemporaneous matched Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) controls. This post hoc analysis showed no significant improvement in cGVHD rates in both the MRD (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.85, P = .64) or MUD cohorts (HR = 0.68, P = .26) on the study compared with CIBMTR controls. B cell activating factor plasma levels were significantly higher after ixazomib dosing in those who remained cGVHD free compared with those developed cGVHD. This study shows that the novel strategy of short-course oral ixazomib following allogeneic HCT is safe but did not demonstrate significant improvement in cGVHD incidence in recipients of MRD and MUD transplantation compared with matched CIBMTR controls. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02250300.

Improving Outcomes of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia in the Current Era: Analysis of the SEER Database.

BACKGROUND: Outcomes of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) have significantly improved with the availability of targeted agents. It remains unclear whether the population-level outcomes of APL have improved over time. METHODS: Using the SEER database, we identified patients aged ≥20 years with pathologically confirmed APL diagnosed in 2000 through 2014 and who were actively followed. Patients were stratified by diagnosis period into 3 groups (2000-2004, 2005-2009, and 2010-2014) to assess the temporal trends in overall survival (OS), cause-specific survival (CSS), and other outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 2,962 patients with a median age of 48 years (range, 20-96 years) were included. Hispanic patients constituted 21.5% of the cohort and the largest proportion (47.9%) of uninsured patients. The incidence of APL was 0.33 cases per 100,000 population per year. Incidence varied significantly by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and diagnosis period. Survival was significantly higher for patients diagnosed in 2010 through 2014 compared with those diagnosed in 2005 through 2009 and in 2000 through 2004 (4-year OS, 73.4% vs 65.6% vs 57.3%, respectively; 4-year CSS, 78.3% vs 70.8% vs 60.8%, respectively). Early mortality improved significantly over time (2000-2004, 25.3%; 2005-2009, 20.6%; 2010-2014, 17.1%) and was higher in men and Hispanic patients. According to multivariate analysis, diagnosis before 2010 and unmarried status were associated with a higher mortality risk. Uninsured patients had a significantly higher early mortality without a significant difference in post-30-day CSS. No significant changes were noted in risk of secondary malignancies. CONCLUSIONS: Population-level outcomes of APL have continued to improve over time. However, significant discrepancies in disease outcomes continue to exist, highlighting the need for more research.

Efficacy, Toxicity, and Infectious Complications in Ruxolitinib-Treated Patients with Corticosteroid-Refractory Graft-versus-Host Disease after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Corticosteroid-refractory graft-versus-host disease (SR-GVHD) remains a significant source of morbidity after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. No standard therapy exists in this setting; however, recent studies have demonstrated a very promising role for ruxolitinib, an oral Janus kinase 1/2 inhibitor. With increasing evidence of efficacy for SR-GVHD, limited data exist describing complications of ruxolitinib use, specifically infectious complications during use in SR-GVHD. In this study we report outcomes and infectious complications at our institution with ruxolitinib use. Overall, 43 patients were treated with ruxolitinib for SR-GVHD, 19 for acute SR-GVHD and 24 for chronic SR-GVHD. With respect to acute SR-GVHD, 15 patients had grade III acute GVHD and 4 patients had grade IV acute GVHD. At 28 days, a response rate of 84% was detected. With respect to chronic SR-GVHD, 16 patients had moderate refractory disease and 8 had severe refractory disease. At around 28 days, a 63% response rate was detected. Overall, 42% of patients (n = 18) treated with ruxolitinib had a documented infectious event. Infectious events were significantly more common among patients treated for acute SR-GVHD (P < .005). Among patients treated for acute SR-GVHD, both viral (n = 11) and bacterial (n = 10) events were frequently encountered. Cytomegalovirus reactivation was detected in 4 patients without organ involvement in any patient. Bacteremia was the most common bacterial event (n = 8), and 2 patients died after development of bacteremia. Only 5 of 24 patients treated with ruxolitinib for chronic SR-GVHD developed infectious complications after initiation of therapy. Nearly an even number of viral (n = 3) and bacterial (n = 4) were detected. This study supports the use of ruxolitinib in SR-GVHD, with impressive responses observed in both acute and chronic SR-GVHD. Infectious complications were particularly frequent among patients treated for acute SR-GVHD, and nearly all these patients were concurrently on high-dose steroids while on ruxolitinib. This study suggests careful monitoring for viral reactivation is required for patients initiated on ruxolitinib, supports the role of continuing prophylactic antimicrobial measures in ruxolitinib-treated GVHD patients, and raises the question of whether bacterial prophylaxis should be considered among patients initiated on ruxolitinib for acute SR-GVHD, particularly while on high-dose steroids.

Assessment of Individual versus Composite Endpoints of Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease in Determining Long-Term Survival after Allogeneic Transplantation.

The overall composite of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS), defined as survival free of grade III-IV acute GVHD (aGVHD), chronic GVHD (cGVHD) requiring systemic immunosuppressive therapy (IST), or relapse, has emerged as a useful composite in clinical trials and to capture clinically meaningful events that impact quantity and quality of survival after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We reviewed 565 consecutive patients aged ≥18 years undergoing HCT for hematologic malignancy to analyze how baseline incidence, specifics of clinical definitions, and proposed reductions in any one individual event may dynamically alter the overall performance of the composite To determine the relative impact of each GRFS event (excluding death), we accounted for competing risks using Fine and Gray methods, and correlated each event with overall survival (OS) using Kaplan-Meier methods. The consequences of modulating individual or composite endpoints on OS, such as hypothesized reductions of events of an HCT interventional trial, were examined using Monte Carlo simulations. The median age of the cohort was 54 years (range, 18 to 73 years). The majority of patients received HLA-matched unrelated donor HCT (53%), consisting of peripheral blood stem cell grafts (90%) after myeloablative conditioning (68%). Relapse conferred the greatest risk for death (hazard ratio [HR], 7.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.83 to 10.69), followed by grade III-IV aGVHD (HR, 6.16; 95% CI, 4.42 to 8.56) and cGVHD requiring IST (HR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.46). The overall GRFS composite correlated with an HR of 4.81 (95% CI, 3.61 to 6.41), which was lower compared with either relapse or grade III-IV aGVHD. Statistical simulations found that modulating the combined risk of both relapse and grade III-IV aGVHD predicted the greatest change in 5-year OS. These simulations suggest that GRFS as currently defined may be less optimal for correlating with OS, and further refinement of composite endpoints is needed. Nonetheless, composite endpoints may be particularly helpful in mitigating potential difficulties in interpretation when competing risks are present, most commonly seen in HCT studies.

Outcomes of Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Performed in the Inpatient versus Outpatient Setting.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) with reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) is commonly performed as an inpatient procedure. The feasibility and outcomes of RIC allo-HCT in the outpatient setting is not known. We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients aged ≥ 18years with hematologic malignancies who underwent RIC allo-HCT either in the inpatient or outpatient setting. Donor types included HLA-matched sibling and well-matched unrelated donors. The objectives were to compare the survival, complications, charges, and incidences of relapse, nonrelapse mortality (NRM), and acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) between the 2 groups. Between 2014 and 2017, 151 eligible patients were included, with 116 undergoing RIC allo-HCT in the inpatient setting and 35 patients undergoing RIC allo-HCT in the outpatient setting. Baseline characteristics were comparable between the 2 groups except for a higher proportion of patients with myeloma in the outpatient cohort (inpatient 15.5% versus outpatient 37.1%). The cumulative incidence of grades II to IV acute GVHD (inpatient 25.2% versus outpatient 25.7%), grades III to IV acute GVHD (inpatient 10.4% versus outpatient 8.5%), chronic GVHD (inpatient 38.3% versus outpatient 51.6%), NRM at 1 year (inpatient 10.8% versus outpatient 3.2%), and relapse (inpatient 24.8% versus outpatient 33.2%) did not significantly differ between the 2 cohorts. One-year progression-free survival (inpatient 64.4% versus outpatient 63.6%, P = .39) and overall survival (inpatient 73.8% versus outpatient 82.8%, P = .93) were also not significantly different between the 2 groups. The proportion of patients who developed neutropenic fever (inpatient 25.8% versus outpatient 8.5%, P = .03) and mucositis (inpatient 50.8% versus outpatient 8.5%, P < .001) and who required total parenteral nutrition (inpatient 20.6% versus outpatient 5.7%, P = .04) were more frequent in the inpatient cohort. About 51.5% of the outpatient cohort never required hospital admission in the first 100days. Outpatient HCT resulted in significantly lower charges than inpatient HCT in the first 100days (median charges: inpatient $339,621 versus outpatient $247,334; P < .001). On multivariate analysis the site of the HCT (outpatient versus inpatient) was not a significant predictor of either overall or progression-free survival. Outpatient RIC allo-HCT is feasible and safe with daily outpatient evaluation and aggressive supportive care resulting in outcomes comparable with those who received the transplant in the inpatient setting.

Impact of a health information technology tool addressing information needs of caregivers of adult and pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients.

PURPOSE: We developed BMT Roadmap, a health information technology (HIT) application on a tablet, to address caregivers' unmet needs with patient-specific information from the electronic health record. We conducted a preliminary feasibility study of BMT Roadmap in caregivers of adult and pediatric HSCT patients. The study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03161665; NCT02409121). METHODS: BMT Roadmap was delivered to 39 caregivers of adult and pediatric patients undergoing first-time HSCT at a single study site. We assessed person-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at baseline (hospital admission), discharge, and day 100: usefulness of BMT Roadmap (Perceived Usefulness); activation (Patient Activation Measure-Caregiver version [PAM-C]); mental health ([POMS-2®]: depression, distress, vigor, and fatigue); anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory); and quality of life (Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer [CQOLC]). To identify determinants of caregiver activation and quality of life, we used linear mixed models. RESULTS: BMT Roadmap was perceived useful and activation increased from baseline to discharge (p = 0.001). Further, burden decreased through discharge (p = 0.007). Overall, a pattern of increasing vigor and decreasing depression, distress, fatigue, and anxiety was apparent from baseline to discharge. However, overall quality of life lowered at discharge after accounting for BMT Roadmap use, depression, anxiety, and fatigue (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: BMT Roadmap was a feasible HIT intervention to implement in HSCT caregivers. BMT Roadmap was associated with increased activation and decreased burden, but quality of life lowered across hospitalization. Findings support the need to further develop caregiver-specific self-directed resources and provide them both inpatient and outpatient across the HSCT trajectory.

BMT Roadmap: A User-Centered Design Health Information Technology Tool to Promote Patient-Centered Care in Pediatric Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Health information technology (HIT) has great potential for increasing patient engagement. Pediatric hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a setting ripe for using HIT but in which little research exists. "BMT Roadmap" is a web-based application that integrates patient-specific information and includes several domains: laboratory results, medications, clinical trial details, photos of the healthcare team, trajectory of transplant process, and discharge checklist. BMT Roadmap was provided to 10 caregivers of patients undergoing first-time HCT. Research assistants performed weekly qualitative interviews throughout the patient's hospitalization and at discharge and day 100 to assess the impact of BMT Roadmap. Rigorous thematic analysis revealed 5 recurrent themes: emotional impact of the HCT process itself; critical importance of communication among patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers; ways in which BMT Roadmap was helpful during inpatient setting; suggestions for improving BMT Roadmap; and other strategies for organization and management of complex healthcare needs that could be incorporated into BMT Roadmap. Caregivers found the tool useful and easy to use, leading them to want even greater access to information. BMT Roadmap was feasible, with no disruption to inpatient care. Although this initial study is limited by the small sample size and single-institution experience, these initial findings are encouraging and support further investigation.

Advances in understanding the pathogenesis of graft-versus-host disease.

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) is a potent immunotherapy with curative potential for several haematological disorders. Overcoming the immunological barrier of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a fundamental impediment to expanding the efficacy of HCT. GVHD reflects a complex pathological interaction between the innate and adaptive immune systems of the host and donor. Over the past decade there has been a tremendous advancement in our understanding of the cellular and molecular underpinnings of this devastating disease. In this review, we cover several recently appreciated facets of GVHD pathogenesis including novel extracellular mediators of inflammation, immune subsets, intracellular signal transduction, post-translation modifications and epigenetic regulation. We begin to develop general themes regarding the immunological pathways in GVHD pathogenesis, discuss critical outstanding questions, and explore new avenues for GVHD treatment and prevention.

Outpatient Administration of CAR T-cell Therapies Using a Strategy of No Remote Monitoring and Early CRS Intervention.

Recent studies demonstrating the feasibility of outpatient chimeric antigen receptor modified (CAR) T-cell therapy administration are either restricted to CARs with 41BB costimulatory domains or employ intensive at-home monitoring. We report outcomes of outpatient administration of all commercially available CD19- and BCMA-directed CAR-T therapy using a strategy of no remote at-home monitoring and an early cytokine release syndrome (CRS) intervention strategy. Patients with hematologic malignancies who received CAR T-cell therapy in the outpatient setting during 2022-23 were included. Patients were seen daily in the cancer center day hospital for the first 7-10 days and then twice weekly through day 30. The primary endpoint was to determine 3-, 7- and 30-day post CAR T-cell infusion hospitalizations. Early CRS intervention involved administering tocilizumab as an outpatient for grade ≥1 CRS. 58 patients received outpatient CAR T-cell infusion (33 myeloma, 24 lymphoma and 1 acute lymphoblastic leukemia). Of these, 17 (41%), 16 (38%), and 9 (21%) patients were admitted between days 0-3, 4-7 and 8-30 post-CAR T-cell infusion, respectively. The most common reason for admission was CAR T-cell-related toxicities (33/42). Hospitalization was prevented in 15 out of 35 patients who received tocilizumab for CRS as an outpatient. The non-relapse mortality rates were 1.7% at 1 month and 3.4% at 6 months. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the administration of commercial CAR T-cell therapies in an outpatient setting is safe and feasible without intensive remote monitoring employing an early CRS intervention strategy.

Severity and organ distribution of chronic graft-versus-host disease with posttransplant cyclophosphamide-based versus methotrexate/calcineurin inhibitor-based allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

The reduced risk of chronic graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) with posttransplant cyclophosphamide (ptCy) in the setting of haploidentical related donor and more recently, with HLA-matched related and matched and mismatched unrelated donor allogeneic transplantation has been established. There is, however, paucity of data to show if ptCy impacts chronic GVHD pathogenesis, its phenotype and evolution after HCT regardless of the donor status. We examined the differences in chronic GVHD incidence and presentation in 314 consecutive patients after receiving their first allogeneic transplantation (HCT) using ptCy-based GVHD prophylaxis (ptCy-HCT; n = 120; including 95 with haploidentical related donor) versus conventional calcineurin inhibitor-based prophylaxis (CNI-MUD; n = 194) between 2012 and 2019. The 1-year cumulative incidence of all-grade chronic GVHD and moderate/severe chronic GVHD was 24% and 12%, respectively, after ptCy-HCT and 40% and 23% in the CNI-MUD recipients (p = 0.0003 and 0.007). Multivariable analysis confirmed that use of CNI-based GVHD prophylaxis and peripheral blood stem cell graft as the risk factors for chronic GVHD. The cumulative incidence of visceral (involving ≥1 of the following organs: liver, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, serous membranes) chronic GVHD was significantly higher with CNI-MUD vs. ptCy-HCT (27% vs. 15% at 1 year, p = 0.009). The incidence of moderate/severe visceral chronic GVHD was 20% in CNI-MUD group vs. 7.7% in the ptCy-HCT group at 1 year (p = 0.002). In addition, significantly fewer ptCy-HCT recipients developed severe chronic GVHD in ≥3 organs (0.8%) vs. 8.8% in the CNI-MUD group at 1-year posttransplant (p = 0.004). There was no significant different in relapse, non-relapse mortality, and relapse-free and overall survival between the two groups. Further investigation is needed to confirm that reduced risk and severity of chronic GVHD, less visceral organ distribution with ptCy-HCT leads to improved quality of life.

Prognostic impact of immunophenotypic aberrancies of blasts in lower risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Low risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a marrow failure state eventually leading to transfusion dependence. Flow cytometry has previously been demonstrated as prognostic tool in MDS, however not thoroughly studied in lower risk MDS. In this study, we assessed whether assessment for immunophenotypic blast aberrancies by flow in low risk MDS patients has a prognostic role in these patients. METHODS: A total of 63 consecutive patients diagnosed with low/intermediate risk MDS were included. We recorded initial flow results, and collected time to transfusion dependence, and AML progression. RESULTS: On multivariate cox regression analysis, increasing IPSS-R score, an increase in the number of blast aberrancies on flow cytometry, and aberrant expression of CD7 on myeloid blasts increased likelihood of transfusion dependence. CONCLUSION: Low risk MDS patients with increasingly aberrant blast phenotypes by flow may be at risk for earlier transfusion dependence.

Novel Health Information Technology Tool Use by Adult Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Longitudinal Quantitative and Qualitative Patient-Reported Outcomes.

PURPOSE: Health information technology (IT) is an ideal medium to improve the delivery of patient-centered care and increase patient engagement. Health IT interventions should be designed with the end user in mind and be specific to the needs of a given population. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), commonly referred to as blood and marrow transplantation (BMT), is a prime example of a complex medical procedure where patient-caregiver-provider engagement is central to a safe and successful outcome. We have previously reported on the design and development of an HCT-specific health IT tool, BMT Roadmap. METHODS: This study highlights longitudinal quantitative and qualitative patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in 20 adult patients undergoing allogeneic HCT. Patients completed PROs at three time points (baseline, day 30 post-HTC, and day 100 post-HCT) and provided weekly qualitative data through semistructured interviews while using BMT Roadmap. RESULTS: The mean hospital stay was 23.3 days (range, 17 to 37 days), and patients had access to BMT Roadmap for a mean of 21.3 days (range, 15 to 37 days). The total time spent on BMT Roadmap ranged from 0 to 139 minutes per patient, with a mean of 55 minutes (standard deviation, 47.6 minutes). We found that patients readily engaged with the tool and completed qualitative interviews and quantitative PROs. The Patient Activation Measure, a validated measure of patient engagement, increased for patients from baseline to discharge and day 100. Activation was significantly and negatively correlated with depression and anxiety PROs at discharge, suggesting that this may be an important time point for intervention. CONCLUSION: Given the feasibility and promising results reported in this study, next steps include expanding our current health IT platform and implementing a randomized trial to assess the impact of BMT Roadmap on critical PROs.